John h



' (No Model.)

J. H. WILLIAMS.

GAR COUPLING.

Patented Jan 1 mama 3o ling applied thereto.

UNITED STATES JOHN H. WILLIAMS, or BRATTLEBOROUGH, vEaMonnAssIeNoR TO THE PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAMS OAR COUPLER- COMPANY, on CONCORD, N. H.

CAR-COUPLING.

-' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,501, dated January 1886.

Application filed May 4, 1885. Serial No. 164,354.

-.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. \VILLIAMS, of

Brattleborough, in the county of Windham l and State of Vermont, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gar-Couplings, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

My present invention relates to car-coupro lings, and has for its object the production of a car-coupling for railway-cars, especially adapted to use upon freight-cars, which shall be simple, strong, durable, and inexpensive, x and which shall be automatic in its action as to coupling, and that maybe uncoupled without necessitating going between the cars, and that shall be-adapted to couple with the ordinary draw-bar and link coupler, or with the Miller couplinghook, and that will couple 2o readily and automatically when there is considerable difference in the heights of the two cars to be coupled; and it consists in certain novel constructions, arrangements, and com binations of parts, which will be best understood by reference to the descriptionof the drawings, and to the claims, to be hereinafter given. a

Figure 1 of the drawings is an end elevation of a freight-car with my improved car-coup- Fig. 2 is a side eleva tion ot'a portion of the same. Figs. 3 and 4 represent horizontal sections, through the timbering to which the draw bars are atta'ched,of two cars, and showing my improved couplings attached thereto, in plan and in positions to be coupled whenthe cars approach each other. Fig. 5 represents a. plan of portions of said two couplings coupled together. Fig. 6 represents in plan one of my improved coupf to lings coupled toa Miller coupling-hook. Fig.

'7 represents in plan one of my improved couplings coupled to an ordinary draw-bar by means of the ordinary link. Fig. 8 represents avertical longitudinal section ofmy improved 5 coupling on line w m on Fig. 3. Fig. 9 repre- 5o enlarged scale, and illustrating the manner of (No model.)

. creating friction to hold said hoo-k'in thedesired position.

In the drawings, A represents the body of an ordinary box freight-car, and B B are the timbers attached to its bottom, to which the v draw-bar is connected.

0 is the draw-bar, provided with a bufferhead, 0, and provided with a socket, a, to receive the slotted arm of the pivoted hook D, and also adapted to reoeivethe ordinary link, E, whenever it becomes necessary to couple with the ordinary draw-bar and link. The

draw-bar (J has formed upon one side thereof the shoulder b, which extends vertically the whole height of the buffer-head G, with which the pivoted hook D, attached to an opposing draw-bar, engages, as shown in Fig. 5. The opposite side of the buffer-head of the drawbar is provided with the laterally-projecting slotted arm or pair of earsa c, to the outer end of which the coupling-hook D is pivoted, so as to swing about its pivot, as shown in Figs. 4 and '7. The inner faces of the ears 0 c and the upper and lower faces of that part-of the hook D which fits between said ears are made slightly inclined to each other, as shown in Fig. 10, so that when the hook D is swung into the position shown in Figs. 4 or 7 the friction in the joint shall be considerably increased, so as to hold the hook D in such position until power is applied thereto to move it into a different position.

The hook D is composed of the three arms, d, d, and (V, the arm dbeing provided with the hook d, and the arm d wit-h the slot d to re 85 ceive the nose 6 of latch'lever E, fitted to work in the longitudinal slot f, formed in the drawbar 0, and pivoted to said draw-bar at e, as shown in Fig. 8. The draw-bar O has its innor end reduced in diameter and made cylindrical and provided witha screw-thread to re ceive a nut, g, by which the draw-bar is connected 'to the draw-timbers B, through the medium of the metallic bars It andh, through which the shank g of the draw-bar passes, as 5 shown in Figs. 3and 4. The bar or plate his slotted in the direction of its length, to permit the draw-bar G to movelaterallytoa limited extent, swinging about its connection with the bar or plate h as afulcrum, said latiroo eral movement of the draw-bar being limited in one direction by the fixed stop-pint, to ward which it is pressed by the springj, in-

' serted in an opening cut through one of the draw-timbers B, so as to rest between the side of the draw-bar D and the plate k, secured to the outer vertical surface of said draw-timber B, the end of said spring next to the draw bar being provided with a headed pintle, k, the shank of which is surrounded by the spring, and the head of which is interposed between the end of the spring and the drawbar, thus presenting a broader and smoother surface to contact with the draw-bar'than would be presented by the spring alone, all as shown in Figs. 3and 4=. The bars or plates h and h are fitted at their ends to recesses formed in the draw-timbers B B, so as to be movable therein in the direction of the length of the draw-bar, and the shank g ofsaid drawbar is surrounded between said plates h and h with the spiral spring Z, which serves to relieve the shock occasioned by the sudden starting or stopping of the train in a wellknown manner. The upwardly-projecting arm 0 of the latch-lever E has connected thereto the chain m, by one end, the other end of which is connected to the periphery of the ,drum F, secured upon the shaft G, mounted in suitable bearings, n n and a a, on the end of the car-body, and provided at each end with a lever, G, by which said drum may be partially revolved about its axis, to raise the latch-lever E and disengage it from the slot d of the hook D, or from the link E,when it is desired to uncouple the cars, the levers G G being in a convenient position to be operated by a person standing upon the ground at the side of the car. v

The 'drum F has one or both ends thereof made slightly oblique to a'plane cutting its axis at right angles, and the bearings n a are made to iit closely to said oblique ends, as shown in Fig. 9, for the purpose of creating an increased amount of friction when said drum has imparted thereto a semi-revolution to raise the latch-lever'E, for the purpose of insuring the maintenance of said latch in said raised position until force is applied to the lever G to turn said drum in the opposite direction. Another drum, H, of similar construction, and mounted in a similar manner in bearings o 0 at the top of the car, and provided with the lever 0, has connected thereto one end of the chain 10, the other end of which is connected to the chain m, between the drum F and the latch-lever E, as shown in Fig. 2; or said chain may be connected directly to the arm 6' of the latch-lever E, if desired. It will readily be seen that by this arrangement of drums and chains the car may be readily uncoupled by a person upon the top of the car or standing upon the ground by the side of the car. V

In Figs. 1 and 2 the latch-lever E isrepres'en'ted asraised; but if two carshaving my improved coupling applied thereto were to be coupled, the coupling-hooks D should be in the position indicated in-Fig. 4 and in dotted lines in Fig. 3, and the levers G should be turned upward to drop the latches E into the posit-ion shown in Fig. 8, and when the cars came together the head of the draw-bar of each car would strike the rounded edger of the arm (1 of the hook D, pivoted to the oppo sing draw-bar, and, moving it in the direc- "tion indicated by the arrow on Fig. 4, force the arm 02 into the socket a of the draw-head Q, the beveled end 8 of said arm (1 striking against the curved front edge of the nose 6 ct the latch-lever E, causing said latch-lever-to nose until the slot (1 is directly beneath said nose '6, when the latch E will fall and the nose ewill engage with the slot d as shown in Fig. 8, and lock the hook D in the position shown in Fig. 5. 4

if from any cause two cars should bebrought rise, so that said arm d may pass under said-- together when the hooks D (one or both) were locked by the latch E in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3, they will couple automatically by virtue of the lateral yield of the draw-bar O, permitted by the compression of the spring j, the hook-arm of the pivoted coupling-hook D on each car engaging with the shoulder b, formed upon one side of the opposingdraw-bar, as shown in Fig. 5. The inner face of the nose e of the latch E is made straight and at right angles to a line drawn through the center of the vertical. length of said nose and the pivotal axis of said latch, which renders the latch E capable of being raised to uncouple the cars, even when in motion, if desired, in case of accident or otherwise.

If at any time it should become necessary to couple a car provided with my coupling with a car provided with the ordinary drawbar and coupling-link, it s only necessary to swing the hook D back to the position shown in Fig. 7, and then run the cars together, the link being held in the proper position by the weight of the latch E, controlled by the lever G or 0, the inner end of the socket a being chambered out, as shown in Fig 8, so that IIO the link may have its outer end raised considerably above its inner end or depressed below it'by manipulating the latch E.

My coupling may be readily coupled with a car provided with a Miller hook or a hook of like character or construction, as shown in be readily applied to cars now in use, in place of the ordinary draw-bar, with little or no change in the car or its attachments.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The combination of the draw-bar 0, provided with the socket a, the shoulder b, and the laterally-projecting ears 0 c, and the threearmed coupling-hook D, provided with the slot d'*, and pivoted to the ears 0 c, and the pivoted latch-lever E, all arranged and adapted to operate substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. The combination of the draw-bar G, provided withthe socket a and the ears 0 c, having their inner faces slightly inclined to each other, and the coupling-hook D, having the upper and under surfaces of the end of the arm d made correspondingly inclined to each other, substantially as shown in Fig. 10, for the purpose specified.

3. The combination of the draw-bar C, the pivoted latch E, the chains m and p, the drums F and H, the shaft G, and the levers G G and 0, all arranged and adapted to operate 25 pivoted latch E, the chain in. the drum F,

having its ends slightly inclined to each other, the bearings 11 it, having their inner faces c0r- 3o respondingly inclined to each other, and the levers G, for rotating said drum, all arranged and adapted to operate substantially as described.

5. Thedraw-bar 0, provided with the socket 35 a, enlarged at its inner end, in combination with the latch E, chain m, drum F, shaft G, and lever G, all arranged and adapted to control and direct the link E, substantially as described. 40

,In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 1st day of May, A. D. 1885. a

JOHN H. W'ILLIAMS. WVitnesses:

WALTER E. LOMBARD, FRANK E. BRAY. 

